Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006
Latest action · Nov 15, 2006 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 426.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedDec 16, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to provide for the implementation of three international environmental agreements: (1) the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs Convention); (2) the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP POPs Protocol); and (3) the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (PIC Convention).
(Sec. 2) Prohibits the manufacture, process, distribution for export, use, or disposal of specified Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue or amend rules related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in order to comply with the provisions of the POPs Convention or the LRTAP POPs Protocol.
Requires a notice and comment procedure that is triggered by the formal actions of the POPs Review Committee or the LRTAP POPs Protocol's Executive Body to add a new chemical to the international agreements. Sets forth: (1) time frames to publish notices; and (2) the information to be included and requested in notices.
Allows the Administrator to issue regulations to: (1) prohibit the use of such a newly listed chemical to protect human health and the environment in a manner that achieves a reasonable balance of social, environmental, and economic costs and benefits; and (2) bring the United States into compliance with its obligations under the POPs Convention and the LRTAP POPs Protocol when the POPs Convention Conference of the Parties or the parties to the LRTAP POPs Protocol add new chemicals to the list of banned or severely restricted chemicals. Establishes considerations for the Administrator to use when issuing such rules.
Sets forth exemptions from the prohibitions and restrictions on specified POPs under the POPs Convention or the LRTAP POPs Protocol. Specifies that if there is a conflict between exemptions under such agreements, the more stringent provision shall apply.
Requires the Administrator to publish: (1) a decision regarding the treatment of any new source categories that are not already listed under the Clean Air Act as major source categories; (2) notice of the development of action plans under the POPs Convention; and (3) a decision on whether to promulgate regulations for newly listed POPs or the status of a rulemaking if the Administrator has not made a decision about such POPs.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States shall consent to be bound by amendments to Annexes A, B, or C of the POPs Convention only after such amendments have been ratified by the United States. Requires the President to consult with and report to Congress before consenting to bind the United States to an amendment of the POPs Convention.
Requires the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of State and the heads other federal agencies, to: (1) participate and cooperate in any international effort on chemicals; and (2) participate in activities designed to support implementation of the POPs Convention, the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the PIC Convention.
(Sec. 3) Prohibits the Administrator from promulgating a rule authorizing PCB manufacture, processing, or distribution activities or granting an exemption from PCB regulations under TSCA, unless they are consistent with the exemptions under the POPs Convention and the LRTAP POPs Protocol.
Prohibits the distribution for export equipment that contains more than a specified percentage of PCBs in liquid stock, except for the purpose of legal, environmentally sound waste management.
(Sec. 4) Sets forth provisions concerning judicial review, including applying a substantial evidence standard for review of regulations related to new listing of POPs.
(Sec. 5) Establishes conditions for exporting chemicals listed on Annex III of the PIC Convention.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Dec 16, 2005Markup Jul 12, 2006Reported Nov 15, 2006 |
| Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee | Referred Jan 3, 2006Markup May 18, 2006 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 15, 2006Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 109-714.
- Nov 15, 2006Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 426.
- Jul 12, 2006Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 12, 2006Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 28 - 15.
- May 18, 2006Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- May 18, 2006Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 15 - 10.
- Jan 3, 2006Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.
- Dec 16, 2005Introduced in House
- Dec 16, 2005Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Aug 3, 2006H.R. 4591, Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 21, 2006</p>
- Aug 3, 2006H.R. 4591, Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on July 21, 2006
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 109-89 | H.R. 2567, THE ANTIFREEZE BITTERING ACT OF 2005155 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | May 23, 2006 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3849 | PIC and POPs Conventions and the LRTAP POPs Protocol Implementation Act | Related bill | Sep 19, 2006 |
| HR 4800 | POPs, LRTAP POPs, and PIC Implementation Act of 2006 | Related bill | Feb 17, 2006 |
| HR 6421 | Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006 | Related bill | Dec 8, 2006 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, and the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2005
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Stockholm and Rotterdam Toxics Treaty Act of 2006
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Administrative procedure
- Administrative remedies
- Agriculture and Food
- Air pollution control
- Business records
- Chemical industries
- Chemicals
- Commerce
- Congress
- Congress and foreign policy
- Congressional oversight
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Economics and Public Finance
- Environmental health
- Environmental monitoring
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Export controls
- Exports
- Federal preemption
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Hazardous wastes
- Health
- Industrial pollution
- International Affairs
- International environmental cooperation
- Judicial review
- Labeling
- Law
- Local laws
- Pesticide pollution
- Pesticide regulation
- Pesticides
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
- President and foreign policy
- Public health
- Risk
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Small business
- State laws
- Technological innovations
- Transboundary pollution
- Treaties
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 15, 2006Reported in House
- Dec 16, 2005Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.